


Silent Poet

by Sabishiioni



Category: The Almighty Johnsons
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Blood, Cancer, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-15
Updated: 2014-08-15
Packaged: 2018-02-13 05:09:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2138154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sabishiioni/pseuds/Sabishiioni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A poet returns to Asgard leaving a now silent vessel to pay a debt owed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silent Poet

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own The Almighty Johnsons  
> Warnings: Read them (Even the ones in bold, please)  
> Follow Me:[Tumblr](http://sabishiioni.tumblr.com/)  
> Follow PI: [Tumblr](http://projectinsanitywriting.tumblr.com/)  
> Mindless Babble: Welcome to the final post of Project Insanity. Appropriate, I think.

“Do you think he’ll show up tomorrow?”

Mike looked up from his drink to look at Michele. “Who?”

“Anders.” The brunette shrugged, sipping her wine. “I mean, we haven’t seen him since that thing with the god hunters in the church.”

Mike shrugged as he leaned back in his seat. “Don’t know, don’t care.”

“Really?” Michele arched an eyebrow in surprise. “You don’t want to know what he’s been up to all this time?”

“It’s Anders. No, I really don’t.” He took another drink before signaling for another round. “As long as he doesn’t screw up things tomorrow, I could care less.”

“So, you’re not worried about him?”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Knowing Anders, he’s just butt hurt about not getting any thanks for fixing the problem he created. Why are you worried?”

It was Michele’s turn to shrug. “I’m not. I just thought you were a mother hen to all of your brothers.”

Mike snorted. “Anders was always too independent to listen to anything I had to say, even when we were kids.”

His eyes became less focused as he remembered all the times he had tried to warn his brother about their parent’s tempers. And then all the times Anders had chosen to ignore him. This led to Mike’s extensive knowledge of how to treat a large variety of wounds and when to call for help.

“It doesn’t matter if he shows up. Derrick will be there to represent Nidavellir so we have it covered.”

The doctor chuckled. “I would have loved to have seen his expression when we told him he’d be representing the dwarfs.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it would’ve been priceless,” Mike agreed with a chuckle of his own. He finished his beer and started the next bottle, trying not to think of his blond brother.

***  
Olaf carried his surfboard out of the water and towards the lone figure on the beach. “Hey Anders- I didn’t expect to see you here.”

His second eldest grandson lifted his hood covered head. The smile on his lips was small and didn’t quite reach the dull blue eyes. He slowly got to his feet, Olaf taking note of the dark half-moons under the other’s eyes which contrasted sharply to the paleness of the hairless skin.

“I was just wondering if you’d be up for some company tonight…?”

The young looking old man grinned. “Well, Stacy and Ingrid are bringing the alcohol here…”

Ander’s face fell. “Oh.” He turned and started to walk away.

“You could join us if you’d like…” Olaf offered.

The blond stopped, glancing over his shoulder, smirking. “It’s alright. I wouldn’t want to ruin your night.”

That prompted a question, asked with a confused scowl. “Anders? Why did you come here? We’ve never really been that close. Certainly not close enough for you to want to spend the last night as a god with.”

“There’s no one else who’d want to spend it with me.” Shrugging, the younger Johnson spoke softly. “And I know. I wish I could change that.”

“Hey! We’re not going to die tomorrow! We can still work on it.”

Olaf blinked in surprise as he witnessed a tear run down the ashen cheek. “No…I don’t think we can. There’s not going to be enough time.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He reached out to grab the hoodie covered arm, but Anders stepped out of the way. “Not enough time for what?”

“It just means…my debts will be paid tomorrow.” Anders turned away, but his words carried on the wind. “I’m sure you’ll be living it up as much as you can. Maybe enough for both of us…”

“Anders…”

“It’s alright, Grandpa. Look, here comes your ladies.”

Olaf looked to where his grandson was pointing. The two women were coming over a sand dune, carrying a blanket and a large bottle of something amber in color. He turned back to ask Anders why he felt Olaf wouldn’t want to live it up with him, but the younger man was already halfway to his car.

***  
Hanna smiled as she saw the group. She looked at Axl, her expression a little bit sad. “Your brother is already here.”

The youngest Johnson looked a bit confused but turned to the wild looking man at his side. “Um…I guess you came all the way out here for no reason.”

Derrick chuckled. “No worries, Milord. I’ll wait here and watch the cars.”

Axl patted him on the shoulder and rejoined the group. “So when did Anders get here?”

“Shortly after my brother and I arrived.”

The three brothers shared a look, glancing at their grandfather. The man still had the confused scowl on his face as he shook his head. They said nothing as the beautiful woman led them to a clearing. The confusion spread to everyone in the group as they saw Hanna’s brother tied between the trees. The goddess quickly explained everything and began to place them in their assigned spots. When she got to Nidavellir, Anders was already in place, hood pulled over his head. Her expression turned to one of sad understanding. The man returned it with a forced smile.

While others made soft comments throughout the short ceremony, Anders remained quiet and stone still. His bloodshot eyes watched everything, never once flinching at the sight of blood. To those who knew him, it was an unnerving sight. To Hanna, who knew where Anders had been for the last six months, it was an amazing display of strength and sacrifice, especially after everyone present had heard Axl’s promise of life to Michele.

With a last glance at Anders, Frigg’s vessel joined her bloody hand with the vessel of Odin’s.

***  
Olaf watched as Anders staggered off, heading deeper into the woods. He was sure he was the only one to witness the younger man’s quiet departure as everyone else was consumed by Martin’s disappearance and Michele’s resurrection. He glanced about, making sure everyone was alright before taking off after his grandson.

He didn’t have to go far. He found Anders lying face down on the forest floor. Olaf quickly closed the gap between them, dropping to his knees next to the motionless body. He gently rolled Anders over mindful of any injuries the blond might have concealed. He cried out his grandson’s name seeing the amount of blood that covered the pale face, flowing heavily from the younger man’s nose.

Olaf didn’t even look up as the rest of the Johnsons came to a stumbling halt after hearing Olaf’s scream. He carefully pulled the smaller body into his lap, tears streaming down his face. He pushed back the hood, revealing a completely hairless scalp.

“The chemo did that to him,” Hanna’s softly spoken words broke the shocked silence. When all eyes turned towards her, she continued. “Inoperable brain tumor. They tried chemo and radiation but it didn’t work. The doctors were clueless as to how he was still able to function.”

“Bragi…”

Hanna inclined her head in acknowledgment. “Anders got tested the day you had your Bergerbar. The results came back the day you took him to see the god hunters.”

Olaf tried to swallow the lump in his throat as blue eyes fluttered open. The man who once thought he had all the time in the world suddenly realized what precious little time he had left with this grandson. He tried to smile comfortingly. “So…that probably explains that power upgrade you got…”

Anders chuckled softly as Hanna stepped back, taking Collin, who actually looked more than a bit upset, with her. The three brothers knelt next to the pair, where Anders struggled to breathe through the blood. Mike reached out to take the trembling hand.

“Anders…why? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“We could’ve spent some time with you before…” Axl’s voice strangled as he found that he couldn’t say the words.

Pain filled eyes fluttered opened, though they focused on nothing. “You…you didn’t want to spend…time with me…while I was living…why would you…want to spend it…with me while…I’m dying?”

Olaf hugged the shuddering body. “This is what you meant…”

Despite the obvious pain he was in, Anders smiled for his grandfather. “I…took a…a branch…from the tree of life. There had to be…an exchange… b…but it’s okay…Grandpa…You still have…three others-” 

He was cut off by a choking cough that wracked his small frame. It subsided, the body stilling. “Take care of…them…” Blue eyes slowly closed for the last time.

“I will, Anders… I… I promise.” Olaf’s head dropped to the still chest, and he wept for the grandson he would never know.


End file.
